Our Mommyhood

I just read the best article at the Business Insider, Getting Shouted at Makes You Work Harder, But Not Smarter. They researched a number of students and tried different methods for delivering the same message – one with anger and the other neutrally. Anger seemed to cause the students to think only in black and white and remain focused on the anger, it blocked all creativity in their problem solving.

Let’s admit it. Dating before marriage was fun, exciting, and just plain fun!  When the honeymoon phase fizzles out after the wedding date, it’s easy to get sucked in to every day life and lose the fire that pulled us and our hubbies together.  Work, kids, chores, and millions of activities allow us to use [...]

By Betsy, Editor, Funky Mama Bird, (@funkymamabird) I love Mom’s Night Out. No. That’s not strong enough. Mom’s Night Out is my lifeline, my oxygen, my one and only chance to get out of the house some months. To put on lipstick and heels and feel like someone other than “Mama” for a few hours. [...]

By Mommie V, Staff Writer, My Little Slice of Mommie Heaven, (@mommiev1) I have always been a visual learner. In college, I could read an entire paragraph in a book and not understand it. Then I would look at the accompanying diagram or figure and presto, it made sense. When I started teaching college science, [...]

By Brooke, Staff Writer, Baby and Sofia (@babyandsofia) Since becoming a stay-at-home mom one year ago, my priorities have seriously shifted.  Now that I have been able to focus my energy on taking care of my family, I have found that my life has taken a new route.  I have been able to perfect my [...]

By KLZ, Guest Writer, Taming Insanity, (@taminginsanity) I married young. I met the man of my dreams and saw no point in dragging it out just to be “old enough” to get married. I had a child young. Our family didn’t seem complete without a baby and we made good money, so why wait? That [...]

By Mommie V, Staff Writer, My Little Slice of Mommie Heaven (@mommieV1) This has been a tough winter. I live in an area that has dodged most of the winter snowfall, but it’s still been cold, gray and miserable. On top of that, it seems like everyone has The Sick. It came to our house, [...]

By Brook, Staff Writer, Baby and Sofia (@babyandsofia) Italians are famous for delicious cuisine, gorgeous landscape, loud accents and  most importantly, knowing how to relax and celebrate life.  Being a predominately Catholic country, Italians enjoy numerous religious holidays throughout the year. Most religious (and civic) holidays are celebrated by a day or two off from [...]

By Megan M., Staff Writer, All A Bunch of Momsense (@TaxMegan) I saw an interesting comment on Twitter recently, and it got me thinking: Do most men view marriage or fatherhood as emasculating? To me, there is little that endears a man to me more than seeing him interact with his children, or any children, [...]

By Signe, Staff Writer, My Baby Clothes Boutique One of the greatest gifts my daughter received this year was a subscription to an online magazine – New Moon Girls Online. The mission of this magazine is to help young girls discover and honor their true selves. I first discovered New Moon Girls (and their sister [...]

By Mama M., Staff Writer, My Little Life (@5crookedhalos) I love my family. More than anything on earth, I love my family. But you know what? As much as I love my family, sometimes I just need to get away from it all. Pack a bag, grab a great girlfriend (or a whole bunch of [...]

By Julia Magnusson, Staff Writer, It’s Not Like a Cat (@notlikeacat) Dear Baby, You are as of this writing, five months old. Five delicious drooling fat-legged months. You smile easily, adore your big brother (who adores you) and you’re not the worst sleeper in the world. You’re healthy. You are engaging and interactive and enjoy [...]

By Brook, Staff Writer, baby and sofia (@babyandsofia) Instead of the traditional “Merry Christmas” (“Buon Natale”), Italians usually say “Happy Holidays,” (“Buone Feste”).  Being a predominately Catholic country, this phrase is used to describe the two major Christian holidays of the season – Christmas and the Epiphany – as well as the New Year. When [...]

By Mama Michie, Staff Writer, Mama Michie’s Musings (@MamaMichie) Before the kids came along, Ray and I would have date nights almost every weekend. We almost always went out to eat on Friday nights and spent most Saturdays and Sundays either riding around on the Harley or just going out and doing something. While I [...]

By Kristi, Contributor, Live and Love…Out Loud (@TweetingMama) I ran into the house, hid under the covers and cried big fat baby tears. I was 28 years old and I was crying for my mommy. One divorce, 3 out-of-state moves and 8 long years have passed since my first Christmas away from home, but I [...]

By Signe, Staff Writer, My Baby Clothes Boutique Parents have a hard time letting go and watching their children blossom into independent individuals.  Schools are supposed to be the place for this lesson.  But, what isn’t covered in the parenting manual is how do we protect our children from bullying in schools.  Bullies have been [...]

By Julia Magnusson, Staff Writer, It’s Not Like a Cat, (@notlikeacat) It must be the famous relentlessness of having more than one child, but these days my husband and I think little of hiring a sitter and fleeing the premises. When our firstborn was a baby, we could barely bring ourselves to hand him over [...]

By Brook, Staff Writer, Baby and Sofia (@babyandsofia) **Editor’s Note: This is part two in a series on raising your child to be bilingual. Go here if you missed part one.** I was raised in an English-speaking family. As a child, the idea of learning an entirely new language was both fascinating and seemingly unattainable.  [...]

By Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas, Guest Writers **Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two part post on bilingual learning. Go here to see Staff Writer Brook’s post on raising her son to be bilingual as well.** It goes without saying that in an economic time like the one we’re currently in, a [...]

By Melissa, Contributor, Confessions of a Dr. Mom (@Melissa_DrMom) Seriously, our 5 year old son lobbed this question to my husband and me the other day. We were left speechless; staring at each other hoping the other would tackle this one. After a few minutes of silence and our son showing no signs of leaving [...]

By Megan M., Staff Writer, All A Bunch of Momsense (@TaxMegan) The holidays can be completely overwhelming. Even without some of the economic challenges so many are facing, the urge to spend, to get the biggest and best for those we love, can put a real crunch on our wallets. The glitz and sparkle of [...]

By Honey B, Staff Writer, The Honey B (@thehoneyb) As we get closer and closer to the end of the Baby Bucket List, I find myself looking ahead to the pregnancy stage and the even more daunting parenting stage. Because I’m Type A, my reaction to anything unknown that is coming up is to read [...]

By Brook, Staff Writer, Baby and Sofia (@babyandsofia) The Christmas season in Italy is amazing. While the Catholic Church is formally separate from the Italian government, it is still very integrated into all realms of society; Christmas is a very traditional and very celebrated holiday. When we lived in Italy, I adored the Christmas season [...]

By, Brook, Staff Writer, Baby and Sofia (@babyandsofia) I have a 12-month-old baby boy, Paolo.  He is a busy little man who never, ever stops moving.  Paolo keeps me busy all day with his boundless energy and curiosity.  So it is a true mystery to me why he rarely sleeps through the night. Well, I [...]

By Mommie V, Staff Writer, My Little Slice of Mommie Heaven (@MommieV1) I know I’m not the only single mother in this entire universe; medical professionals have to encounter other single mothers other than me. So why do I constantly feel like I’m blazing a trail? My daughter has had an ongoing illness. She had [...]

By Betsy, Editor, Funky Mama Bird (@funkymamabird) There are more than 900,000 divorces finalized each year. As more blended families emerge from these statistics, more balancing acts need to emerge for the holidays. Two Household Families No matter whether you or your ex-spouse has remarried, chances are your kids are going to be in high-demand [...]

By Natalie, Contributor, Mommy of a Monster and Infant Twins (@mommyofamonster) Fall is finally here! As I get older, I love the fall more and more every year. I love to see the oranges, yellows, browns, and fiery reds of the leaves as they prepare to leave the trees they clung on to throughout the [...]

By Megan M., Staff Writer, All A Bunch of Momsense (@taxmegan) I have a rather boisterous Irish family. We find random excuses to get together and hang out, something that after more than ten years my husband is still not totally accustomed to. We get together for the normal stuff like birthdays and for random [...]

By MommieV, Staff Writer, My Little Slice of Mommie Heaven (@MommieV1) I was in my car driving home. I had a lot on my mind; my little one had come home from daycare the day before with a fever and I had canceled Open Lab for the second Thursday in a row. I was feeling [...]

By Bethany, Contributor, Organic Enchilada Halloween seems to be the ceremonial opening of the holiday season, which for my family means lots of opportunities to practice our manners. With four boys, I feel like I might never be able to stop whispering reminders to say, “Please”, “Thank you”, and “Excuse me”.  I’m fairly certain it’s [...]

By Brook, Staff Writer, baby&sofia (@babyandsofia) My husband is Italian. Not Jersey Shore Italian, but actually Italian.  When we moved to the States two years ago, it was the first time Giuseppe had ever resided in America.  And he is still learning how to balance his culture with that of fast-paced America, especially when it [...]

By Megan M., Contributor, All A Bunch Of Momsense (@taxmegan) I’m a reader. I’ll read about anything with text on it. There are books scattered through my house, and usually I’m working my way through two or three of them at a time. My books are my escape. When I have downtime – after the kids are [...]

By Dana, Guest Writer, My 3 Little Ducks (@my3littleducks) I love the ending of a good movie. Not the normal movie ending, but the tasty little tidbits that some directors give after the movie ends; a glimpse into the future of the characters you just fell in love with for two hours. The best movie ending [...]

By Michaela, Contributor, Mama Michie’s Musings, (@MamaMichie) I coerced my husband to start playing a video game again after he had quit playing it almost two years ago. If you or any of your loved ones play World of Warcraft (also known as WoW or World of Warcrack), you know just how much of a [...]

By Signe Whitson, Guest Writer, My Baby Clothes Boutique Do you regularly leave a “Honey Do” that your husband routinely ignores?  Are emotionally-charged conversations often shut down with the words “Fine” and “Whatever?”  If you and your husband communicate anger and hostility through undone errands and botched chores, then passive aggression might be the third [...]

By Mama M, Contributor, My Little Life (@5CrookedHalos) That IS the question. Here in Minnesota, the birthday cut-off for attending kindergarten is September 1st. If you happen to have a child with a summer birthday, I promise that you will hear every argument for and against sending your child to kindergarten when they are five years old. It’s [...]

By PV Lundqvist, Guest Writer, PV Lundqvist (@PVLundqvist) The problem with writing a post about wives and mommyhood is…I’m a guy. I see these roles from the outside. Their effects only. So instead of imagining that I can know what another human being is thinking, feeling, experiencing, I would like to illustrate how the typical [...]

By Maria Minten, Guest Writer, My Baby Clothes Boutique Recently we renovated one of our bathrooms and I had the creative task of designing the mosaic tile pattern for the shower.  I love this type of thing – it makes me feel like one of those designers with their own TV shows.  I planned and [...]

By Mama M, Contributor, My Little Life (@5CrookedHalos) I need to see a show of hands.  All of you who’ve ever seen a child off to high school, raise your hands. Okay, good. Now that you’ve identified yourselves, let’s talk. My baby. Well, not really my baby, but you know what I mean…metaphorically speaking (because [...]

Kristi, Guest Writer, Live and Love…Out Loud (@TweetingMama) Marriage is a sacred union – one that thrives on love, honesty and a mutual respect. Two people with two totally different personalities come together as one in the name of love. Promises are made. Rings are exchanged. They kiss and ride off into the sunset. Then [...]

By Mama Michie, Contributor, Mama Michie’s Musings, (@MamaMichie) I love my children. I can’t imagine what life would be like without them. And yet I’m looking forward to classes starting up again in 4 weeks. Had someone told me a year ago that I would one day say that I’m looking forward to going back [...]

By Betsy, Contributor, Funky Mama Bird, (@funkymamabird) I’ve never really had trouble making friends. I’ve met people in school, in work, at the gym. I’ve even made some friends through blogging that became Real Life friends. So I’m not sure exactly what happened, but somehow after I had my son I stopped making friends easily. [...]

Megan, Guest Writer, Twinsomnia When my husband and I first found out we were going to have twins, we were so overcome by the excitement of it all that our brains stopped working. That lasted for a few weeks. After that, we emerged from twin shock and started to think logistics.  The first point being [...]

by Megan M., Contributor, All a Bunch of Momsense (@taxmegan) We have pets. Currently, we own two dogs and are tolerated by one cat. There is no denying we are pet people – we’ve always had animals. When my husband and I met, we each owned a dog, both Dalmatians. Shortly after we purchased our [...]

By My Baby Sweetness, Guest Writer I admitted this on my blog and now I’ll admit it here too.  It’s true – I’ve started dating.  And my husband… he knows…  Now I could go down the path of saying he’s ok with it because I’m dating women now, but I won’t (that didn’t count!).  I’m dating [...]

There is an amazing book out there that can really help boost your relationship with your partner or anyone for that matter. It’s called The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. The book explains that everyone has a primary way of expressing their love. As a marriage counselor for more than 30 years, Mr. Chapman was able to identify each of these languages.

First of all let’s make it clear that I’m not a hippy! I’m not a huge astrology fan, I’m just your normal amount of an astrology fan. I don’t go looking for my daily horoscope or anything. If I happen to come across it, it’s usually wrong and has absolutely nothing in common with what’s going on in my life at the time.

By Tonya, Guest Writer, Letters for Lucas My son is turning one in a few days and that just seems crazy! Where did this year go? 365 days… poof, gone! Most days felt like an absolute eternity, while others simply flashed right before my eyes. I think I’m still in complete denial that I’m someone’s [...]

To the guy with the beer gut wearing a tank top and jeans:
Neither cool nor attractive

To the middle-aged man that calls me beautiful:
Please don’t call me that. It’s creepy

To every other guy in the gym:
I’m working out. I don’t have time to talk. Yes, I know I’m strong for a “little girl like me”. No need to tell me.

I was so nervous. I don’t know why. I mean, I really like this person. So why was my stomach in knots?

To avoid being shot down in person, I approached them by email. Perhaps the thought of saying “no” over the internet is slightly less humiliating.

I can no longer spend an evening with my family without ending up covered in food.

This didn’t used to be the case. Sometimes I went out and ate a whole dinner without getting a bit of it on me. That was a rarity, even before children, but occasionally it did occur.

There are the SAHMs, the working moms, the breastfeeding moms, the bottle-feeding moms, disposable or cloth diapering, attachment parenting, schedulers, the Gymboree-clad and the Target-clad. Those whose kids are all in the same preschool or Kindermusik class.

It can feel overwhelming, trying to find your place. Trying to find a mom who understands.

In the course of getting to meet people, it is only natural that I get asked basic questions: Are you married? What do you do for a living? Any kids? When I answer that last question, and I say how many children I have had, without a doubt people always want to know more because there are so many. It’s usually at this point, that the conversation turns a little odd.

Since I already know which way it’s going to head, I can brace myself for how to handle it. Since you, dear readers, do not, let me fill you in. See- I was a surrogate.

This year I’m feeling… deflated. Let down. Bewildered. Flummoxed. Maybe it’s that I moved across the country and now I’m watching it all alone (my husband is quite “anti”) and that strips it of some of the fun. But I don’t think I’m alone in the sentiment that American Idol is going downhill, maybe overstaying it’s welcome.

You never know how it feels to walk in another mom’s shoes… until you have been there.

It’s getting warmer. Here they come – those images we’re inundated with every spring. You know… young, lithe, tan models. Skin glowing, hair shining, teeth gleaming. There they stand sporting cute little skirts, or short shorts, or heaven help us, swimwear.

Anybody else ever want to punch one of ‘em square in the face?

I’ve been faking it.

There I said it– and do you want to know something? I feel a little better now that I did.

Let me stop your mind from wandering though and clear things up before it gets too far into the gutter… the thing that I’ve been faking is…

Being a mommy and a wife is full time job. At times, we get so busy that we forget about doing things for ourselves. We get so caught up in doing things for those people who mean the most, that we leave little to no time to spend on ourselves. One day, not too long ago, I was feeling pretty low. I felt unappreciated, fat, tired, depressed, worn down, and sloppy. I needed something new; something to make me feel better. In my world, that means new clothes or shoes.

I recently noticed that sometimes I compare myself with some of the characters of the show. For the most part, I can usually relate more to Monica (played by Courtney Cox). Monica is known for her amazing cooking skills, her OCD, and her eagerness to be a hostess in her tidy little apartment.

I, on the other hand can not stand being a hostess.